anticipatory potential

Inspired by Richard Carver's poem dealing with Fear -- I chose the duality of anticipation/potential instead of "fear". It's not the best thing I've ever written, but it was stream-of-consciousness, like most of my work.

test results, exams for academia and health new horizons, the sun basking in white college acceptance letters strewn onto cherry wood tables anxious first kisses on brownstone doorsteps a woman swole like a weather balloon baby stumbling its first shaky walk and pretty little girls learning to talk male down on one knee, ring box propped open, jewel glistening aeroplanes floating over the seas on the way to visiting the past, the present, and the future interns constructing rockets and crafting movies the next nuclear bomb or oscar nominees man on death bed in a hospice breathing in what’s left looking towards what’s next wife waiting at terminal breathing in what’s left looking towards what’s next as her husband dashes towards her in pixels of tan and olive, green combat boots scuffling one less limbed, but still smiling recent divorcee signs away his family breathing in a what’s left looking towards what’s next in a boardroom two spacious for such intimacy mandarin jumpsuit called to court let out on parole but now twenty years older, disenfranchised, colder breathing in what’s left looking towards what’s next president-elect steps up with podium on a frigid january day millions of citizens’ lives impacted by this one man’s decision making he inhales, delivers his speech then turns on a heel to his daughter, crying, softly, joyfully breathing in what’s left looking towards what’s next nothing will ever be the same the past is now cinderblocked in the atlantic all we can do is hope said a nervous preacher after a school shooting that rocked the idyllic boat anticipation is a double-edged blade a duality of hope and tragedy wrapped in butcher-paper potential transparent, yet opaque, cloudy we are always anticipating something a vacation, a visit, a job interview but the only thing definite is the anticipation of death memento mori, welcome it because as we wait in lines for concerts and clubs we move higher up in the queue of six feet under or spread out on every avenue don’t look so sad, it’s as natural as tripped up words when you meet your favorite celebrity after standing out in the rain two hours just to see how much better your life could be

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